Device for assembling variable sizes of framed screens



Aug. 1 1, 1 959 FIG.1.

J. G. WATT DEVICE FOR ASSEMBLING VARIABLE SIZES OF FRAMED SCREENS FiledJuly 24, 1956 FIG. 2.

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. JOHN G.WATT

ATTORN EY J. G. WATT Aug. 11, 1959 DEVICE FOR ASSEMBLING VARIABLE SIZESOF FRAMED SCREENS Filed July 24, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 N ID INVENTOR. JOH N G. WAT T ATTORN EY J. G. WATT 2,898,951

DEVICE FOR ASSEMBLING VARIABLE SIZES 0F FRAMED SCREENS Aug. 11', 1959 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 24, 1956 INVENTOR. JOHN G. WATT J. G. WATTDEVICE FOR ASSEMBLING VARIABLE SIZES OF FRAMED SCREENS Filed July 24,1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEY INVENTOR. JOH N G. WATT nited StatesPatent DEVICE FOR ASSEMBLING VARIABLE SIZES OF FRAMED SCREENS John G.Watt, Miami, Fla., assignor to American Screen gil'oducts Company,Miami, Fla., a corporation of orida Application July 24, 1956, SerialNo. 599,842

Claims. (Cl. 140-109) This invention relates to framed screens and it ismore particularly concerned with assembly machines for use in securingthe screening to the frame with splines set into grooves or channels.

More particularly, the invention comprises improvements over the onedescribed in Conrad, Patent No. 2,753,897, issued July 10, 1956, wherebya single unit may be adjusted for use with different sizes of frames,thereby obviating the necessity of providing separate units for eachsize frame to be screened.

According, it is the general object of this invention to provide adevice for assemblying framed screens of diiferent sizes.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a size-adjustabledevice for assemblying framed screens in which the adjustment from onesize to another can be made quickly, easily and conveniently.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of anadjustable device of the type mentioned which is rugged and, at the sametime, simple in construction and operation.

These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention willappear more fully from the following description considered togetherwith the accompanying drawing:

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an embodiment of the invention with thescreen supporting platen removed.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same embodi- Fig. 4 is asection along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a corner section broken away from the remainingpart of the embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a section, on a larger scale, along the line 6-6 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a plan view, like Fig. 1, with the addition of the screen andscreen frame members in position thereon ready for assembly, but partlybroken away.

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of portions of the screen frame, screen, andspline, showing their relative positions in the device prior to finalassembly.

Fig. 9 is a section along the line 9-9 of Fig. 7, on a larger scale.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9 with the screen, screen frame andspline in final assembly.

Fig. 11 is a cross sectional view through a portion of an assembledframed screen.

Figs. 12 and 13 are fragmentary sections of modified forms of theinvention.

Referring with more particularity to the drawing in which like numeralsdesignate like parts, the embodiment illustrated comprises a horizontalsupport or base 21 of generally rectangular shape. Adjacent the edge ofeach side of the base member there is secured at the median point ashaft bearing 22, 23, 24 and 25 for the outer ends of shafts 26, 27, 28and 29, respectively.

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Two of these shafts 26 and 28 are disposed longitudinally of the base21, and the other two shafts 27 and 29 are disposed laterally thereofand at right angles to the shafts 26 and 28.

The inner ends of the shafts 26, 27, 28 and 29 pass into a central gearbox 30 and are rotatably mounted in bearings in the side walls 31, 32,33 and 34 of the gear box, such as the bearings 35 and 36 for the shafts27 and 29, respectively in the walls 32 and 34. Pairs of holding collars37, 38; 39, 40; 41, 42; and 43, 44 on the shafts straddle theirrespective bearings and are secured to the shafts with pins 45 forrotation therewith to hold the shafts in position longitudinallyrelative to the gear box 30. The gear box 30 is fixed to the base 21 byscrews 46 or by any other suitable means.

The inner ends of the longitudinal shafts 26 and 28 carry each a bevelgear 47 and 48, respectively. These bevel gears are placed in meshedrelation with a common idling bevel gear 49 rotatably mounted on a stubshaft 50 that is secured to a side wall of the gear box 30 by means of anut 51 engaging a threaded recessed portion 52 of the stub shaft. As aresult of this arrangement the shafts 26 and 28 are constrained torotate in opposite directions.

The inner ends of the lateral shafts 27 and 29 also carry bevel gears 53and 54 which are in meshed relation with an idling bevel gear 55rotatably mounted on the shaft 26.

One of the longitudinal shafts, say shaft 26, and one of the lateralshafts, say shaft 29, each carry on the outside of the gear box 30,means for rotating it, such as the manual means illustrated, comprisinga spur gear 56 rotatable with the shaft, and a hollow arm 57 hingedlymounted on bearing 58 on the shaft adjacent the gear 56 carrying aspring loaded pawl 59 in contact with spurs of the gear 56, the loadingspring being designated by the numeral 60. The pawl 59 is movablemanually against the face of the spring by rod 61 projecting through theend of the arm 57 and provided with a knob 62.

Each of the shafts 26, 27, 28 and 29 also carry a pinion gear and eachof these pinion gears is keyed to rotate with its corresponding shaftand to slide axially thereon. Thus, typically, the longitudinal shaft 28carries the pinion gear 63 and the lateral shaft 27 carries the piniongear 64.

The pinion 63 is meshed with a pair of diametrically opposed horizontalrack gears 65 and 66 extending in opposite lateral directions.

Similarly, the pinion gear '64 meshes with rack gears 67 and 68extending in opposite longitudinal directions. A similar pinion gear(not shown) provided for the longitudinal shaft 26, meshes with rackgears 69 and 70 and a similar pinion gear (not shown) is provided forthe lateral shaft 29 meshing with rack gears 71 and 72.

Each pinion gear is housed in a box with openings for slidably receivingthe rack gears. Thus, typically, the gear 63 is housed in a gear box 73having end walls 74 and 75, a top wall 76, and an inner side wall 77,and outer side wall 78, the bottom wall being provided by the base 21.The end walls 74 and 75 have top and bottom openings 79, and 81, 82 forslidably supporting the rack gears 65 and 66 in meshed relation with thegear 63. Similar gear boxes 83, 84 and 85 are provided for the otherpinion gears and their corresponding rack gears.

These gear boxes are each secured to a unit 86, 87, 88 or 89 whichprovide support for the members of the screen assembly. Thus, typically,the unit 88 comprises a bottom 90 slidably resting on the base 21 andsecured to the inner wall 91 of gear box 84, by screws 92 so as to movewith the gear box. The unit 88 also has uprights 93 and 94 which extendupwardly from and are secured to the bottom member 90 by screws 95 orany other suitable means. Between the wall 91 and uprights 93, 94, anintermediate wall 96 is integral with the bottom member 90 andsubdivides the unit into two sections 97 and 98. Each of these sectionsis provided with a vertically reciprocating floating block or carrier 99and 100 which blocks are urged to the limit of their respectiveuppermost positions by coil springs 101 and 102, respectively, theiruppermost positions being limited by upwardly facing abutment shoulders103 and 104 on the blocks 99 and 100 engaging, respectively, downwardlyfacing shoulders 105 of the uprights 93, 94 and a downwardly facingshoulder 106 of the wall 91.

The intermediate walls 96 of the various units are adapted as supportsfor the splines 107. The inner or primary floating blocks 99 haveportions forming lower shelves 108 which are adapted as supports for aremovable rigid sheet 109, such as of plywood, which in turn supportsthe screening 110 to be set into the channel 111 of the frame 112.Marginal portions 113 of the screening 110 extend beyond the edges ofthe sheet 109 and are supported by an upwardly extending rabbetedportion 114 of the inner block 99. The marginal portions also extendover the splines 107, substantially as shown.

The outer or secondary floating blocks 100 also have recessed portionsforming shelves 115 to support the frame 112 in proper position relativeto and above the screening and splines for assembly therewith.

All the units 86, 87, 88 and 89 have these identical parts. Corner units116, 117, 118 and 119 also have similar parts, angularly disposed toaccommodate the cornerparts of the screen, except that they do not havethe gear boxes, the walls 91 being the outer walls to which the ends ofcorresponding rack gears are secured by bolts 119A.

The sheet 109 is representative of a group of sheets of different sizeseach used for a different size of screen. Hence, they act also as gaugesor templates to define the limits of adjustment of the device to thesize desired for a particular screen assembly. Access holes 120 and 121are cut out of each of these sheets over the pawl carrying arms 57.

In Figs. 12 and 13, modified forms of the invention are shown wherein avertical shim 122 in Fig. 12 and a horizontal shim 123 in Fig. 13 areused to accommodate frames of somewhat difierent dimensions or shapes.

The assembly is effected by placing the splines, screen'- ing, andframes on the device in the relative positions shown, after firstadjusting its size to that desired with the pawl carrying arms 57 andthen applying downwardly against the upper side of the frame a pressureplaten (not shown) as a result of which the frame moves downwardlyrelative to the splines and border edges of the screening and thesplines are forced into the channels or grooves 111 of the frame, thefloating blocks 99 and 100 yielding under the pressure. The platen isthen moved upward and the assembled screen removed.

I claim:

1. An adjustable device for assembling the elements of different sizesof framed screens, said elements consisting of a frame having grooves ona face thereof, a sheet of screening, and splines adapted to be disposedin the groovesof the frame together with border edges of the screening;said device comprising a table, a plurality of units slidably supportedon the table and arranged in the general shape of a rectangle, saidunits including angular units defining the corners of the rectangle andintermediate units positioned along the sides of the rectangle betweenconsecutive pairs of angular units, said units comprising mediansupports for the splines, primary floating carriers on the unitsextending above the median supports for yieldably supporting a sheet ofscreening, secondary floating carriers on the units extending above theprimary floating carriers for yieldably supporting the frame, rotatableshafts connecting the intermediate units to each other, a central gearbox interconnecting said shafts, said corner units being connected tothe intermediate units by rack gears carried by the corner members andpinion gears meshing with the rack gears, said pinion gears beingslidably carried on the shafts for rotation therewith, and bearings forrotatably supporting the ends of the shafts on the table.

2. An adjustable device as defined by claim 1 and means for rotatingsaid shafts.

3. An adjustable device as defined by claim 1 in which the gear boxcomprises two sets of bevel gears, each set having a pair of gears inmeshed relation, one gear of each pair being mounted for rotation withone of the shafts and the other being mounted for rotation with anothershaft.

4. An adjustable device as defined by claim 3 in which the pairs ofgears are in meshed relation through an intermediate idling gear.

5. An adjustable device as defined by claim 2 in which the means forrotating the shafts comprises a ratchet gear mounted for rotation withone of each connected pair of shafts, an arm pivotally mounted on theshaft adjacent the ratchet gear, a pawl carried by the arm normally incontact with the ratchet gear, resiliently yieldable means urging thepawl in contact with the ratchet gear, and means for moving the 'pawlout of contact with the ratchet gear against the action of the yieldablemeans.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,018,080 Reston Feb. 20, 1912 1,056,848 Starrett et a1 Mar. 25, 19131,311,653 Koepp July 29, 1919 1,714,468 Espenschied May 21, 19292,753,897 Conrad July 10, 1956 2,804,101 Johnson et a1 Aug. 27, 1957

